News — business

Previously, reported Sephora released its diversity report along with its efforts to promote more inclusion in its workforce. This week, the beauty giant announced that it will relaunch its business incubator program to include all Black and minority-owned beauty brands.

This will be the incubator’s sixth year, but its first with all minority-owned brands. The programs will offer participants mentorship sessions with industry veterans in addition to providing potential funding, investor connections, and merchandising support.

Applications for the incubator are now closed; details for applications will be available in fall 2022.

 “Last year, we made a commitment to dedicate 15 percent of Sephora shelf space to Black-owned brands, and we quickly realized the role that our Accelerate program could play in not only helping us to reach that goal, but to set these brands up for long-term success and growth,” said Sephora’s Executive Vice President and Global Chief Merchandising Officer Artemis Patrick in a press statement to the Associated Press.

“The goal of this program has long been to provide meaningful, ongoing support for growing brands, and that is exactly what we’re aiming to deliver to our 2021 Accelerate cohort,” Patrick added. “Each of the eight participating founders is inspiring in their own right, and we believe wholeheartedly in their potential at Sephora; we are so excited to help shape their futures and to ultimately introduce these brands to our clients.”

Earlier this year, the beauty retailer made a commitment to bringing more Black-owned brands onto its store shelves in response to claims about discrimination toward customers and store employees.

The eight brands selected for the accelerator include Glory Skincare, 54 Thrones, ries, Hyper Skin, Topicals, Imania Beauty, EADEM, and Kelfi Beauty.

Ghana’s local bread manufacturer A1 has expanded its operations to the United States. The expansion to the U.S. market is grounded on a special partnership arrangement with a major American bread company to ensure scale and penetration of the U.S. market at a faster rate. 

This initiative is part of Select USA, an American government program designed to help foreign products penetrate the U.S. market, a statement by Ghana’s Embassy in the U.S. said.

Last year, Ghana’s Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, toured the $3 million production site as well as retailers currently testing the A1 cake bread market in the tri-state area, the statement added.

A1 is led by Ghanaian entrepreneur Godfried Obeng Boateng. He started the business from Kumasi in Ghana’s Ashanti Region. His initial sales point was at the Kejetia market and its surroundings. He has since expanded his business to the capital, Accra, and cities such as Kasoa and Cape Coast.

Boateng’s journey has not been rosy. He recalls a period the company had to shut down for three weeks because he was thrown out of the garage where he had started the company. 

“I was thrown out of business after 3 weeks after I had borrowed money from my mother to start the business. I borrowed GHC1400 from her as seed capital. Apparently, my friend who rented his uncle’s garage to me kept the money instead of giving it to his aunt so they came to throw us out,” Pulse Ghana quoted him as saying.

The rise of A1 Bread in Ghana has an interesting twist. It shot to fame after celebrated Ghanaian actor John Dumelo in 2017 trolled Boateng, a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, on social media for selling bread in traffic.

“Just saw a knust grad hawking in traffic.. What went wrong?,” Dumelo posted on his Instagram page. This prompted a backlash, with many bashing him for criticizing Boateng’s hustle. 

In November of 2018, it was reported in the Ghanaian media that A1 was completing negotiations with some Chinese investors to sell the company. The Chinese investors were reportedly offering a whopping $5 million for the company.

It is unclear if the company was sold to the Chinese investors but what Face2Face Africa can confirm is that Boateng has partnered with renowned Ghanaian sound engineer Da Hammer.

Hammer is known for grooming some of the best Ghanaian Hip Hop or Hiplife artists, including Obrafour, Tinny, Kwaw Kese, Sarkodie, Ayigbe Edem, and others. As a producer, he is credited as one of the pioneers and key figures in the popularization of Hiplife or Hip Hop made in Ghana.

A1 Bread currently has over 200 staff strength and a dozen of retailers across mainly southern Ghana. In a 2018 interview, Boateng revealed that he sells over 60,000 loaves of bread in a day.

“Basketball was my creative outlet,” said Michael Robinson, who played basketball from high school through to college. He said he loved “the way the crowd reacts” when one scores a basket and the feeling it brings. Since he retired from the game and started working, he said he has never felt anything like that though he admits that making soda is now the closest thing to scoring in a basketball game.

At a time when craft breweries were springing up everywhere, Robinson took interest and experimented with his own craft beer but failed and transitioned into soda making. 

He started Bingo-Bango Fresh Fruit Soda Co. in 2018, which specializes in all-natural, fresh fruit soda handcrafted in Winston-Salem North Carolina. His first attempt at selling went sour, he said. “At my first flea market I didn’t have a tent, I didn’t have anything, and it was horrible,” Robinson told YES! Weekly. “It was sugar and water in a keg, and I was freshly squeezing lemons into a cup. I only sold one cup, so I made $2. I put one dollar on my fridge, and gave one dollar to my mom.”

“There were so many trials, and so many fails. My wife hated it. She would come visit and the floors would be sticky. Everything would be sticky,” he added. Despite the shaky beginning, Robinson persevered and created new flavors such as strawberry lemonade and blueberry muscadine.

He took them to a couple of festivals and people enjoyed them. “Folks really liked it, to my surprise,” Robinson said. “They were asking for it by the bottle and the growler.”

“The [Bingo Bango] flavor really pops into your mouth. It’s like you’re biting into a fruit.” Robinson said. “And what I noticed with others was that we tend to get complacent with the flavor of the drink. If you have a peach-flavored Fanta, then your mind then perceives that as peach.”

Since then, the popularity of the drink has increased, including the addition of more flavors such as pineapple apple, apple ginger and lemon peach pomegranate.

Bingo Bango Soda Co. is now a thriving local business, selling nearly 20,000 bottles and showing great potential for growth largely because of the craft beer mentality Robinson brought to the non-alcoholic soda industry.

Robinson recognizes competition from giants in the industry but is hopeful of growing beyond his company’s current sales record. Also, he wants the company to grow organically, that way, he is able to nurture loyal customers.

“I kind of take what’s left,” Robinson told journalnow. “Just like the craft breweries do, people have an understanding for craftsmanship of beer and wine. … I just let the taste speak for itself. I think the company can grow without me having to fight and push. We all can exist, small companies and the giants. There’s plenty of room.”

Robinson, before getting introduced to craft beer, worked as a bartender at his brother’s establishment, Carolina Vineyards and Hops. He graduated with a public relations degree in 2012. Now into soda making, he hopes to distribute nationally soon.

The cigar industry has traditionally been dominated by men, specifically White men. The sector has seen little participation of women. However, two Cuban sisters are changing the narrative on the participation of women in the sector.

The twin Cuban sisters, Yvonne and Yvette Rodriguez, founded their cigar line called Tres Lindas Cubanas Cigars in 2014, making them owners of Miami’s first Afro-Cuban, woman-owned cigar company in the United States. They have straddled between African-American and Cuban culture since their childhood.

Born to a Cuban mother and Black Cuban father, the twin sisters grew up around their cigar-smoking grandmother, according to Miami New Times. Their signature Cigar includes “La Clarita” — which means fair-skinned — and is light-medium bodied; “La Mulata,” which means mixed black/white as is medium-full; and “La Negrita”, which means black, their strongest, full-bodied cigar.

Making cigars was not the first career path of the two sisters. After obtaining their degrees in journalism from the University of Florida, they parted ways in Miami. While Yvette took a job reporting for Channel 7, Yvonne began producing and editing programming for Telemundo. Yvette would later leave Channel 7 to create a PR firm while her boisterous twin sister continued her work with Telemundo.

The idea to go into cigar making occurred to Yvonne in a daydream. She then pitched the idea with Yvette, who found the idea intriguing. On a vacation in Costa Rica, Yvette met a Miami Cuban who owned a tobacco farm in Nicaragua.

By 2014, Yvonne and Yvette started creating their own cigar brand. “As women in a male-driven industry, it was more of a shock to the men when we would walk into a cigar shop,” Yvette told the Miami New Times. “I embrace the shock.”

Their business has since grown steadily. Their cigar brands, which have become quite popular among the Black community in Atlanta, are now sold in major shops in cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, among others.

Their journey in the cigar industry has not been smooth sailing. To date, some shop owners and colleagues try to discourage them. Their male counterparts even go to the extent of asking them whether they know what’s in their own cigars.

“Even to this day, they don’t think we smoke cigars, so imagine I’m trying to sell it,” Yvonne said. “We were starting not even at level zero; we were starting at level negative-five.”

In 2019, National Football League player Russell Okung tweeted that he wanted to be paid in bitcoin. “Pay me in Bitcoin,” he tweeted. He claims to now have what he wished for. The Carolina Panther player retweeted himself on Tuesday saying that he has been paid in Bitcoin, thereby making him the first player in NFL history to be paid in digital currency, he said.

An announcement said this was made possible through a partnership with Zap, a bitcoin startup founded by Jack Mallers. Under the partnership, Zap’s Strike product, which allows people to receive bitcoin as dollars via direct bank deposits, enables the NFL player to convert his salary into cryptocurrency.

Per the arrangement, Okung’s annual salary of $13 million will be divided equally between bitcoin and fiat. But an anonymous source told TheVerge that the claim that Okung was being paid in bitcoin was misleading and that the player was still being paid in dollars. The source further explained that the 32-year-old player was merely converting his salary into cryptocurrency after he has been paid by fiat.

“Money is more than currency; it’s power,” Okung said in a statement. “The way money is handled from creation to dissemination is part of that power. Getting paid in Bitcoin is the 1st step of opting out of the corrupt, manipulated economy we all inhabit.”

On his part, Mallers praised Okung as a leader adding that he is setting a good example on a big stage. “Getting #Bitcoin in exchange for your labor is much more than meets the eye. He is setting that example on a big stage,” he tweeted.

Okung is not the first professional athlete to be involved in the bitcoin trade. According to Yahoo Finance, “unnamed members of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and baseball’s New York Yankees, have also begun onboarding to the program.” The global cryptocurrency market is valued at $575 billion. It is therefore no surprise that more and more sportsmen are getting involved in the sector.

In an Op-Ed in 2019, Okung described bitcoin as “sustainable solutions that can demonstrate that our economic power is not only real but vastly undervalued and overlooked.”

He continued: “Bitcoin is one of the few financial assets that offers sanctuary from a global recession, when it arrives. Financial advisor isn’t recommending bitcoin because they don’t make money by selling it to clients.

“The mainstream talking heads don’t mention it because it threatens their cushy industry. But we are on the precipice of something truly unique with the invention and success of bitcoin. I’m playing my role in raising awareness, shamelessly encouraging professional athletes to embrace bitcoin, and evangelizing to a mainstream audience about the opportunity we have to capture undeniable economic power.”

For him, bitcoin is a digital gold which is not under the control of one entity and allows him to seamlessly send money to relatives in Nigeria. “Bitcoin offers a way to protect that hard earned capital from the whims of central bankers who keep printing more money to bail out their friends on Wall Street. It is time for us to embrace our economic sovereignty by allocating at least 5% of our wealth into bitcoin,” he added.

The appraisal value of the estate of deceased rapper and entrepreneur, Nipsey Hussle sets his fortune at around $4 million. Per legal documents obtained by TMZ, the Crenshaw rapper’s net worth is valued at approximately $4,169,088.57.

A significant portion of Nipsey’s fortune reportedly comes from his trademark portfolio, shares he has in companies he owned, and personal valuables including Rolex watches and gold jewelry.

Breaking it down further, TMZ reported the Grammy award-winner owned a 25% share of stock (worth $271,000) in his Slauson Avenue-located Marathon Clothing Store as well as a 100% interest in his record label, All Money In No Money Out Inc. – which is valued at around $2 million. He also has some $913,000 coming from his trademark portfolio. This includes his name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness on or in products, merchandise or goods.

Born Ermias Davidson Asghedom to an Eritrean father and an African-American mother, Nipsey was fatally shot multiple times in front of his Marathon Clothing store on March 31, 2019. Following his death, the store became a mecca for fans and sympathizers who thronged the location to pay their last respect to the 33-year-old. The store also reportedly made over $10 million in sales following his death.

Outside music, the Grammy-nominated rapper was widely known for his philanthropic works and entrepreneurial savviness. He owned several businesses along the block he was shot, including his Marathon Clothing Store — which he opened in 2017, a burger restaurant, a barbershop and a fish market.

In an interview with Forbes in 2019, the rapper revealed he had purchased the plaza the Marathon Clothing store runs alongside a business partner in a multi-million dollar deal with plans of building an apartment complex on the property.

“Before we was renting here, I was hustling in this parking lot. It’s just always been a hub for local entrepreneurs,” he said. “Within 18 months or so, they’ll knock everything down and rebuild it as a six-story residential building atop a commercial plaza where a revamped Marathon store will be the anchor tenant.”

Following his death, the store’s management announced the commencement of the construction of the Nipsey Hussle Tower on the plaza to “commemorate and honor the life and legacy” of the slain rapper. When complete, the mixed-use development would also house a museum.

Here’s a thought-provoking statistic: A whopping $290 billion would be created in Black wealth if the revenue gap between what Black-owned and white-owned businesses generate were equal.

That discovery came from building supportive ecosystems for Black-owned U.S. businesses, a fresh report from management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. reveals. The research showcases the hurdle Black entrepreneurs face and provides answers that the public, private, and social sectors can implement for equitable and positive business outcomes.

The report notes the right business ecosystems can mitigate or negate the effects of structural obstacles to the business building for Black business owners, adding $290 billion in business equity. The report released in late October found entrepreneurship and business ownership — particularly of community-based businesses— are crucial ways to develop community wealth for both business owners and their employees. Further, healthy Black-owned businesses could be an essential way for closing America’s racial wealth gap, which is projected to cost the economy $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion annually by 2028.

The COVID-19 crisis has further stressed Black-owned businesses and threatens to widen the racial wealth gap. This gap includes a $200 billion revenue opportunity that Black business owners are missing out on if they were to achieve revenue parity with white-owned businesses, translating to lost wealth and up to 850,000 jobs through 2021 due to increased liquidity constraints.

Asked what were among the report’s most stunning findings, McKinsey associate partner John-Paul Julien said “our report states that while nearly 20 percent of the 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. are owned by Black women, Black women experience significant economic and institutional barriers due to their race and gender.” For example, Black women are disproportionately shut out of venture capital funding, which can rapidly fuel business growth. Women of color receive less than 0.2 percent of VC funding, and at 4 percent of funded U.S. start-ups, Black women founders are underrepresented and underfunded. Indeed, the average Black woman-led start-up that received funding raised only $42,000.

The McKinsey report also offered some potential solutions to help create more economic parity for Black-owned businesses:

Apply policies that produce equitable outcomes

The public, private, and social sectors can help remove institutional barriers for Black-owned businesses and ensure laws, policies, and practices produce equitable opportunities and outcomes. For instance, procurement practices, especially at anchor institutions and large organizations, can evolve to be more inclusive of Black-owned businesses. Along with dedicating funds to procurement from Black-owned businesses, large organizations could simplify their minority-supplier certification processes to add new suppliers more quickly and dedicate funding to supplier-development programs that can help Black-owned suppliers better participate in supply chains.

Provide equitable access to capital

To help overcome economic barriers, Black-owned small businesses (SMBs) need direct investment or equity contributions, including grants, subsidies, loans, and revenue-participation agreements. Direct investment is especially key during COVID-19. McKinsey’s analysis suggests that an additional $7.6 billion to $15.4 billion in liquidity for Black-owned SMBs in the 2020-21 time frame — less than 3 percent of the $659 billion authorized under the Paycheck Protection Program — could preserve 460,000 to 815,000 jobs, for an average of $9,325 to $33,478 per job. Funding sources are also needed for Black entrepreneurs starting up or expanding. Banks, conventional and social impact investors, foundations, and public programs could make more capital available to Black-owned businesses. Possible programs include ones that make extending capital to Black-owned businesses less risky through measures such as guaranteeing funds and programs that help entrepreneurs from marginalized backgrounds acquire more capabilities.

Build business capabilities and facilitate knowledge sharing

To conquer market barriers, Black-owned SMBs need support for building capabilities and sharing a greater amount of knowledge. The private and social sectors — particularly anchor institutions — could provide resources. That could include offering help with reskilling and upskilling Black-owned businesses’ workers to make Black-owned SMBs nimbler. Many Black-owned businesses lack the resources to hire service providers that can help them digitize their businesses, but private-sector and social-sector organizations can provide free technology services and managerial assistance.

Expand opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship

Representation and participation in networking, mentorship, and sponsorship programs can help Black entrepreneurs overcome some sociocultural barriers. Private companies should take the lead by building more inclusive teams. Further, managers at every level should consciously develop — and sponsor the careers of — more Black leaders to counteract the effects of structural bias. Indeed, only about 3 percent of current Fortune 100 company CEOs are Black, and fewer than 4 percent of those oversee departments’ profit and loss functions. Those that tend to accelerate career progression for Blacks. Moreover, unconscious bias can affect mentorship and sponsorship, because humans tend to gravitate toward mentoring people they view as similar to themselves.

Community programs can help Black entrepreneurs connect with role models and commercial networks that can help Black prospective entrepreneurs pursue business ownership with more confidence and support. For instance, the private and social sectors could facilitate networking and partnerships between established businesses and compatible start-ups.

An investment in more business ecosystems that provide Black business owners equitable access to resources and opportunities can unlock part of the $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion in annual GDP that would come from closing the racial wealth gap, the report surmises. It adds, more importantly, by making social and economic institutions supportive of a wider swath of people, stakeholders can rectify the mistrust that has developed between Black entrepreneurs and institutions.

William Michael Cunningham, an economist who runs Creative Investment Research, had mixed reactions to some of the findings in the McKinsey report. He told via email a statement in the report that “Black Americans have never had an equal ability to reap the benefits of business ownership” is correct. But Cunningham maintains that Black businesses have continued to survive and innovate in what must be considered one of the most hostile environments for Black people on earth.

“The system of white supremacy that relies on the theft of resources from Black people has severed to limit the ability of Black business owners to fully reap the benefit from their labors.”

Cunningham added the report errs in several ways. For example, he says, Black-owned businesses don’t earn lower revenues and are overrepresented in low-growth, low-revenue industries such as food service and accommodations because they want to perform poorly.

“A reluctance to use Black-owned firms outside of these industries leads to overrepresentation,” Cunningham says. “They are limited to those fields. One policy prescription is to put into place a set of government policies to eliminate these barriers.”

Samuel Afari Dartey is becoming one of the household names in Ghana’s hospitality industry. Since 2015, his investment in the sector has been concentrated on providing eco-friendly resorts for Ghanaian and foreign holidaymakers.

Dartey started with Aqua Safari Resort in the Volta Region of Ghana, a unique venture at the time. Following the success of the resort, he decided to replicate it in other parts of the country. His latest resort, Safari Valley Resort, located in the Eastern Region of Ghana, is a breath-taker. 

Termed the “African Disneyland,” Safari Valley Resort is built in a way to allow visitors to engage with nature. It focuses more on forest resources, wildlife resources, and the ocean and marine environment.

The eco-resort sits on a 500-acre land that provides visitors with modern comfort as it has other facilities such as theatre and arts. It also boasts of caves and lakes. One can enjoy luxury accommodations, spa services, golf and organic meals as well.

Building resorts across Ghana was not easy to conceptualize, Dartey told Paakwesiasare.biz. “A friend of mine invited me to visit his farm and encouraged me to get into the same enterprise,” the CEO of the Aqua Safari Group said.

“We acquired a few acres and started to develop some rubber plantations but anytime I visited, I thought the place was unique and I knew I had to come up with some idea, an idea that could optimize the use of this beautiful renewable natural resource.”

“I started one business in the hospitality industry already, Aqua safari resort, which was doing extremely well, one of its kind in the country so it wasn’t difficult to conceptualize something that will relate,” he added.

The first phase of the project is currently in operation. It consists of 102 rooms and surrounded by palm trees, lush, green landscapes and infinity pools. According to Dartey, the resort was developed in such a way as not to destroy the environment. 

“Because it is an Eco-lodge, we’re planning to put into consideration that we won’t destroy the environment, such that where a tree has to be taken out, we will make sure that four trees replace that particular tree,” he said.

The resort facility is home to dozens of species of wildflowers and wildlife with local and exotic animals such as antelopes, zebra, and giraffes. This environment will enable visitors to “engage with the animals without any form of fear”, Dartey said.

The natural resource economist said he will expand his resort venture to every region of Ghana with Safari Palm Lands in the Western Region and Safari royal gardens soon to hit the Ashanti Region.

The dire blow of COVID-19 — causing over 40% of Black-owned businesses to close this year — has not blocked Omar McGee from expanding his luxury car dealership in Los Angeles. In fact, McGee is proceeding with fresh bold strategic moves that include building up clientele, expanding into new business via partnerships, and positioning his company for future revenue growth.

The CEO of Posh Luxury Imports, McGee runs the only Black-owned exotic vehicle sales and rental dealership in the nation’s second-largest city. It offers everything from Honda Accord to Rolls Royce. Vehicle prices run from $30,000 to $330,000 and sometimes higher.

Yet, keeping his enterprise running has not been easy. McGee was forced to apply some creativity and business acumen in March 2020 after scheduling the grand opening of a new $700,000 showroom with many L.A. celebrities, athletes, and influencers committed to attend. McGee had to cancel the gathering as the pandemic spread and Los Angeles was abruptly shut down on the day of the event.

Driven to get a return on his investment, McGee developed a plan to sell cars amid the crisis. Leveraging a strong clientele of medical professionals and corporate workers, he informed them he was still open and explained why they might need his services.

He found a niche in demonstrating to his core clientele that, includes doctors, celebrities, athletes, and other high-income individuals, why now is an ideal time to buy their next luxury vehicle despite the pandemic. That move allowed those customers to transition from renting vehicles from Posh to making an additional purchase of its luxury vehicles. That pivot not only uplifted the exotic sales business to the forefront temporarily, it also provided an opportunity for the dealership’s core exotic rental business to endure and even expand amid the crisis.

The moves paid off, allowing McGee to realize a 30% increase in sales largely from new and existing clients during the crisis.

Another game-changer came this summer. Meeting a new customer need and demand, McGee in July 2020 formed a strategic partnership with Amalfi Jets, providing exotic vehicles to the private jet company’s clients landing in Los Angeles.

He says the jet deal will boost car rentals, not necessarily the sales. “The exotic car rental and jets will be a package offering.” For all the jet clients that fly into LA, the exotic vehicles will be waiting for them at the hangar as they leave their jet, he says.

Plus, McGee this year captured other significant partnerships. They included deals with LA Lounge, a high-income, members-only cigar lounge, and Gauntlet Private Investments, a real estate private equity firm.

McGee is reaching out to others for potential partnerships. They include record companies, liquor brands, sports brands, jet rental companies, hotel chains. boutique properties, and general concierge services. He noted that many of these potential conversations and deals are in the works.

“I have been able to flourish as a result of the strategic business moves, we’ve consistently made in the face of the global crisis,” McGee says.

Still, he is uncertain how much the new expanded moves will contribute to the bottom line. He says while 2019 revenue was 60% higher than in 2018, 2020 was a rough year though there were a lot of successes. He says revenue for this year will not be known until next year.

“We are just grateful to not only be open and surviving but thriving!” McGee says. “Whatever number that looks like, we are grateful.”

A seasoned entrepreneur and financial literacy advocate, McGee learned the business from his father who owned an auto body collision shop in Flint, Michigan. Omar McGee became his own boss in 2017 when he launched Posh Luxury Imports. His regular customers include actors, actresses, athletes and other celeb and VIP clients. He offers them luxury car rentals as well as concierge services among his offerings.

Further, McGee counts his wife, Teresa, as a credit to his success. “I enjoy running new strategies by her before I launch them and she always shares her honest opinions about my creative offerings and ideas.”

Now, Omar McGee wants to take Posh Luxury Imports to another level. And McGee is confident his business is well equipped for future growth. He projects sales and rentals will top $2 million for 2021. He expects the revenue to come from his exotic rental business exploding once the pandemic is lifted and LA opens back up. He expects to pick up new business from rivals who unfortunately failed during the crisis. He expects other revenue contributions from such as the jet business. tourism and award shows.

Black business owners will get a hefty $20 million venture capital funding commitment courtesy of Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures.

The venture capital arm of Milwaukee-based life insurance and financial services giant Northwestern Mutual will invest the money in startup companies founded by Black entrepreneurs. Plans also call for the launch of the Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator, a new startup accelerator powered by nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor.

The company reports the new initiatives are part of its ongoing commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion and driving equity through innovation.  On the venture capital front, the funding is needed. Northwestern Mutual reports Black founders receive less than one percent of venture capital funding annually. It added Northwestern Mutual and gener8tor are committed to investing in and supporting Black entrepreneurs to help close this funding gap and advance their companies.

“At Northwestern Mutual we’re dedicated to supporting and promoting diversity not just within our company, but within our communities and the businesses we partner with nationwide,” John Grogan, chief product and innovation officer, Northwestern Mutual stated in a news release. 

“Allocating $20 million is only the beginning – we will continue to invest in and provide opportunities for Black founders and are committed to providing access to capital and resources to help them grow their businesses.”

Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures claims it is focused on advancing the company’s investment strategy of engaging startups whose technologies have the potential to transform how people experience financial security. It declares investment criteria for the $20 million Black founder funding allocation is aligned with the fund’s key strategic areas of focus:

• Building for consumers’ changing financial preferences
• Reimagining the client experience
• The digital health revolution
• Transformational analytics and technologies

“Innovative thinking is required to drive breakthrough solutions to close the racial equity gap, and by supporting Black founders through Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and the new accelerator program in partnership with gener8tor, we can make a difference to close this funding gap,” stated Abim Kolawole, vice president, digital innovation, Northwestern Mutual. “Our company’s Sustained Action for Racial Equity task force, which launched earlier this year, is looking at racism and inequality from every perspective. These initiatives will drive change and create impact within our company and communities.”

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Further, The Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator is gener8tor’s first accelerator exclusively focused on advancing Black founders. The 12-week accelerator will run up to two cohorts of five companies a year and startups must be aligned to Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures’ investment areas of focus. The first cohort will begin in early 2021.

Actress Kerry Washington has partnered with a direct-to-consumer jewelry brand for which she also helped design a collection that recently made its debut. According to People, Washington has invested in the company, Aurate, which was started in New York back in 2015 by Bouchra Ezzahraoui and Sophie Kahn.

“I’m so proud to share this Lioness Collection, and all that it represents, with you. In both aesthetic design and in cultural meaning, each piece is built to embody the values of this unique moment while also honoring timeless truths.

“Make no mistake, the lioness is a queen. Her beauty is incomparable. Her strength is undeniable. She is a warrior, built for the hunt, and a nurturer, devoted to her pride. She is magnificently regal, and yet in the world of the Lioness, democracy and collaboration rule. In the #LionessPride there are no egos, there is no pecking order, just fierce felines winning collectively.

“You are a fierce lioness—beautiful, powerful, communal, and winning. And in our shared community we are a #LionessPride. So this collection is for you. I hope that it adds beauty, joy and strength to your day. And I pray that these pieces remind you of the sisterhood of this pride. WITH LOVE, KERRY”

“When I met Sophie and Bouchra, I was so impressed with them as women and as badass entrepreneurs and founders,” Washington told People. “I was so impressed with the product. It really spoke to me, this idea of democratizing fine jewelry by cutting out the middleman and allowing more people to have access to beautiful jewelry. I wanted to be a part of this journey.”

Washington was so impressed by the women and the company that she helped to design the Lioness Collection. She and Aurate’s co-founders are donating 20% of all proceeds from the collection to Supermajority, a nonprofit women’s activism organization.